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329:question:329--week_5_questions_comments-2026 [2026/10/01 14:05] – [The "So What" Question -- Why should we care about the movie and its version of history?] 199.111.65.11329:question:329--week_5_questions_comments-2026 [2026/10/01 14:35] (current) – 199.111.65.11
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 This movie gets a lot right about the story of La Amistad. It gets right that it was often Africans kidnapping other Africans to then sell to European traders for hard to obtain goods like guns. The scenes showing the middle passage are also incredibly and terrifyingly accurate, showing the true brutality of the process, as well as the odd mix of Christianity (when they get on the boat, there is a priest there). The story of these specific captives is also told truthfully; they are first sold in Havana by Portuguese slave traders to Spanish ones who plan to take them to another part of Cuba, but when the captives revolt, they keep two enslavers alive to get them back to Africa however secretly direct the ship to America where the situation immediately plays out in the courts. This movie too considers the U.S. political system and the political intrigue that would play into the case’s appeal to the Supreme Court. We are also shown the appeals of Spanish Queen Isabella II, even if they are a little exaggerated (example being when she is shown jumping up and down on a bed). One other truth that is very rarely shown in similar films is the cultural divide of the different groups, there are three languages that are being thrown around here — English, Spanish, and Mende. Of course, there would be difficulty in understanding the captives and of course it would be hard finding a translator. Similarly, the cultural practices of the African captives and Americans feel so alien to each group. The scene where Baldwin is trying to explain to Cinque that they must try the case again and Cinque’s confusion over how one can simply get rid of a “chief” drives this point home, the two parties are coming from such different political and cultural understandings. While the movie does take some fictional liberties — like in the amalgamation character of Joadson — the movie remains astoundingly accurate.  – Nora M. This movie gets a lot right about the story of La Amistad. It gets right that it was often Africans kidnapping other Africans to then sell to European traders for hard to obtain goods like guns. The scenes showing the middle passage are also incredibly and terrifyingly accurate, showing the true brutality of the process, as well as the odd mix of Christianity (when they get on the boat, there is a priest there). The story of these specific captives is also told truthfully; they are first sold in Havana by Portuguese slave traders to Spanish ones who plan to take them to another part of Cuba, but when the captives revolt, they keep two enslavers alive to get them back to Africa however secretly direct the ship to America where the situation immediately plays out in the courts. This movie too considers the U.S. political system and the political intrigue that would play into the case’s appeal to the Supreme Court. We are also shown the appeals of Spanish Queen Isabella II, even if they are a little exaggerated (example being when she is shown jumping up and down on a bed). One other truth that is very rarely shown in similar films is the cultural divide of the different groups, there are three languages that are being thrown around here — English, Spanish, and Mende. Of course, there would be difficulty in understanding the captives and of course it would be hard finding a translator. Similarly, the cultural practices of the African captives and Americans feel so alien to each group. The scene where Baldwin is trying to explain to Cinque that they must try the case again and Cinque’s confusion over how one can simply get rid of a “chief” drives this point home, the two parties are coming from such different political and cultural understandings. While the movie does take some fictional liberties — like in the amalgamation character of Joadson — the movie remains astoundingly accurate.  – Nora M.
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 +This movie is effective at showing the language barrier between the Mende captives, their Spanish captors, and the Americans involved in the court case. The movie shows the lawyer and abolitionists searching widely for someone who might be able to translate in Mende language for their testimony. There was great diversity in the languages of people in Africa that could have made this difficult. It showcases the distinct cultural differences among slaves that were being held captive, which is historically significant to appreciate that slavery was a massively destructive force to these differences. -Kendall 
  
 The film does a good job of showcasing a reconstruction of the Middle Passage, prioritizing historical gravity and the scale of brutality over audience comfort. One example that stood out to me was the inclusion of the Lomboko slave fortress, in which the film strips away the romanticism often associated with historical dramas, grounding the narrative in the systemic betrayal of Africans by both local tribes and European enslavers. The inclusion of specific  details such as the forced dancing with the crewmen and exercise to maintain muscle mass, the starvation-level rations, and the acts of captives throwing themselves overboard, showcasing their last bit of agency, serves to confront the audience with a small taste of the dehumanizing nature of the centuries-long transatlantic slave trade. These sometimes fleeting moments of historical fact are essential to the film's integrity, serving as testimonies to the suffering endured by real individuals. These moments collectively dismantle the sanitized version of history that we are so often fed in mass media. The film captures how these individuals were reduced to cargo and trapped in a horrific liminal space where their humanity and agency was systematically stripped from them. The film also focused on the linguistic divide that highlighted the deep, intentional divide between the captors and the captive. By emphasizing this barrier, the film illustrates how language was weaponized to strip the captives of their identity, ensuring they remained "others" in the eyes of their oppressors in a very dehumanizing way. - Izabella M The film does a good job of showcasing a reconstruction of the Middle Passage, prioritizing historical gravity and the scale of brutality over audience comfort. One example that stood out to me was the inclusion of the Lomboko slave fortress, in which the film strips away the romanticism often associated with historical dramas, grounding the narrative in the systemic betrayal of Africans by both local tribes and European enslavers. The inclusion of specific  details such as the forced dancing with the crewmen and exercise to maintain muscle mass, the starvation-level rations, and the acts of captives throwing themselves overboard, showcasing their last bit of agency, serves to confront the audience with a small taste of the dehumanizing nature of the centuries-long transatlantic slave trade. These sometimes fleeting moments of historical fact are essential to the film's integrity, serving as testimonies to the suffering endured by real individuals. These moments collectively dismantle the sanitized version of history that we are so often fed in mass media. The film captures how these individuals were reduced to cargo and trapped in a horrific liminal space where their humanity and agency was systematically stripped from them. The film also focused on the linguistic divide that highlighted the deep, intentional divide between the captors and the captive. By emphasizing this barrier, the film illustrates how language was weaponized to strip the captives of their identity, ensuring they remained "others" in the eyes of their oppressors in a very dehumanizing way. - Izabella M
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 The film also reveals the specific commercial considerations and audience expectations that dictated 1990s studio productions. To provide box-office insurance for a major historical drama, the producers relied on bankable stars including Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, and Morgan Freeman. Because Morgan Freeman was a well-established star in 1997 while lead actor Djimon Hounsou was relatively unknown, the filmmakers created and inserted the fictional Black abolitionist Theodore Joadson to boost audience interest and depict 19th-century Black abolitionists, despite the character having no historical counterpart or distinct narrative function. Additionally, while Spielberg chose to have the captives speak Mende for linguistic authenticity, concerns over 1990s American moviegoers' resistance to subtitled films led him to severely minimize subtitles, leaving most of the Mende dialogue untranslated. Finally, Amistad serves as a primary document illustrating late-20th-century ideological frameworks and cinematic storytelling conventions surrounding race. Rather than structuring the film around the complex international treaties and Admiralty law that dominated the actual 1839 proceedings, the screenwriters adapted the story into a standard Hollywood trial drama centered on an uplifting narrative of American freedom. Through editing and narrative choices, the production transformed a historical story of African self-emancipation into a typical 1990s Hollywood arc where white lawyers graciously rescue Black captives, who are framed as passive beneficiaries of American benevolence. In doing so, the movie demonstrates how mainstream 1990s cinema grappled with historical injustice by processing it through reassuring themes of institutional redemption and universal liberty. - Tyler J. The film also reveals the specific commercial considerations and audience expectations that dictated 1990s studio productions. To provide box-office insurance for a major historical drama, the producers relied on bankable stars including Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, and Morgan Freeman. Because Morgan Freeman was a well-established star in 1997 while lead actor Djimon Hounsou was relatively unknown, the filmmakers created and inserted the fictional Black abolitionist Theodore Joadson to boost audience interest and depict 19th-century Black abolitionists, despite the character having no historical counterpart or distinct narrative function. Additionally, while Spielberg chose to have the captives speak Mende for linguistic authenticity, concerns over 1990s American moviegoers' resistance to subtitled films led him to severely minimize subtitles, leaving most of the Mende dialogue untranslated. Finally, Amistad serves as a primary document illustrating late-20th-century ideological frameworks and cinematic storytelling conventions surrounding race. Rather than structuring the film around the complex international treaties and Admiralty law that dominated the actual 1839 proceedings, the screenwriters adapted the story into a standard Hollywood trial drama centered on an uplifting narrative of American freedom. Through editing and narrative choices, the production transformed a historical story of African self-emancipation into a typical 1990s Hollywood arc where white lawyers graciously rescue Black captives, who are framed as passive beneficiaries of American benevolence. In doing so, the movie demonstrates how mainstream 1990s cinema grappled with historical injustice by processing it through reassuring themes of institutional redemption and universal liberty. - Tyler J.
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 +I think the movie is a product of an era where intense violence is becoming expected and palatable in film at increasing levels. Thinking of the global reality at the time of brutality in things like the Rwandan genocide, Bosnian war, the LA riots coupled with the prevalence of a constant TV based news cycle that leaves nothing to the Americans imagination. To compete for attention, it seems that film is increasingly brutal. In this particular movie, the violence is used very effectively to blatantly confront the violence of the Middle Passage, the transatlantic slave trade, and American slavery in the 1800s.  -Kendall
  
 This movie works as a primary source because it's a very original film. The film was obviously very planned out and had a nice budget to include the multiple lifelike ship as well as 19th century dress. It uses a lot of direct evidence of a real multi murder and stealing incident that was brought to court once it was discovered. The slaves that committed the case were put in jail and fought for their rights in court. An incident where this movie got the historical aspect correct was when the slaves first arrived off the ship. They were very confused coming to a land where they were imprisoned by a bunch of white men. Something that caught my attention was when one of the slaves tried to communicate with an obviously either freed slave or working colored man. The slave called him brother just due to his skin-color. I found it fascinating that even in a new land these slaves saw brotherhood in similarities immediately and tried to ask for help when he as well as his people were being taken away to be jailed. -- Autumn Morris This movie works as a primary source because it's a very original film. The film was obviously very planned out and had a nice budget to include the multiple lifelike ship as well as 19th century dress. It uses a lot of direct evidence of a real multi murder and stealing incident that was brought to court once it was discovered. The slaves that committed the case were put in jail and fought for their rights in court. An incident where this movie got the historical aspect correct was when the slaves first arrived off the ship. They were very confused coming to a land where they were imprisoned by a bunch of white men. Something that caught my attention was when one of the slaves tried to communicate with an obviously either freed slave or working colored man. The slave called him brother just due to his skin-color. I found it fascinating that even in a new land these slaves saw brotherhood in similarities immediately and tried to ask for help when he as well as his people were being taken away to be jailed. -- Autumn Morris
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